After this introduction, I would like to begin discussing the Avodah of Yom Kippur. It is well known that Yom Kippur is structured around the number seven. For example, the sprinkling of the blood by the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur was done אַ חַ ת לְמַ עְ לָה וְ שׁ ֶ בַע לְמַ טָּ ה – once above and seven times below. Additionally, Ashkenazi communities mention the י"ג מִדּוֹת שׁ ֶל רַ חֲמִים – the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy seven times during the Ne'ilah service. Everything is built on seven.
The Gemara (Yevamot 49b) recounts a story: Rava said that Menashe judged and killed Yeshayahu HaNavi, his grandfather, as a false prophet. Menashe accused him in court, saying: "Moshe, your teacher, said that Hakadosh Baruch Hu stated, ‘לֹא תוּכַל לִרְ אֹת אֶת פָּנָי – You cannot see My face, for no man shall see Me and live,' yet you said that you saw ‘the Lord sitting on a high and lofty throne.' Since you claim in your prophecy to have seen Hashem, which contradicts the prophecy of Moshe, you are a false prophet!"
Menashe continued and said, "Moshe, your teacher, also said, ‘כִּי מִי גוֹי גָדוֹל – For what great nation is there that has a G-d so near to it, as is Hashem our G-d whenever we call upon Him?' This implies that whenever Bnei Yisrael call upon Hashem, He is close to them to accept their prayers. Yet you said, ‘Seek Hashem when He is found,' implying there are times when Hakadosh Baruch Hu is not available to receive their prayers. This too contradicts the words of Moshe, your teacher, and is therefore a false prophecy!” His third accusation was: “Moshe, your teacher, said regarding the brachot promised by Hakadosh Baruch Hu to Bnei Yisrael when they serve Him properly, ‘אֶת מִסְפַּר יָמֶיך אֲמַלֵּא – I will fulfill the number of your days,' meaning He will only fulfill the number of days decreed at birth, not add to them. Yet you said in the name of Hashem to my father, Chizkiyahu, something contradictory, ‘I will add fifteen years to your life.'”
Because of these three supposed contradictions between Yeshayahu's prophecy and the Torah of Moshe, Menashe claimed that Yeshayahu deserved death as a false prophet. Yeshayahu thought to himself: I know that Menashe will not accept what I say in response to his accusations. If I tell him, it will only cause harm, as it will make him a deliberate murderer when he ignores my answers and kills me anyway. Instead, Yeshayahu uttered a sacred name of Hakadosh Baruch Hu to escape, and he was swallowed into a cedar tree; which Menashe's men began sawing. When the saw reached his mouth, Yeshayahu died, as a punishment measure for measure, because he once said עַם טְמֵא שְׂפָתַיִם אָנֹכִי יוֹשֵׁב וּבְתוֹך – I dwell among a people of unclean lips. Because he willingly disparaged their honor, he was punished for it.
Thus, during the Aseret Yemei Teshuva, each individual is like a complete congregation – this special closeness to Hakadosh Baruch Hu is the greatness of the period we’re in. He is so close to us that an individual who turns to Him during these days is considered like a congregation, a minyan, beseeching. Chazal say that Hakadosh Baruch Hu is with us in a certain way until the Tefillah of Ne'ilah. During Ne'ilah, by saying ה' הוּא הָאֱ -לֹהִים seven times, we accompany the Shechinah upwards until the shofar is blown, at which point Hakadosh Baruch Hu returns to sit on His throne.
